Life in the Living
by FantasyEmpress
Summary: Fourth entry in my Life sparrabeth series of related oneshots. This comes after The Abbey, ReThinking Life, and Life Reborn. I personally don't think its as good as its predessesors, but read away! and rewiev too! T jus' in case


**The strange thing about this series of stories is that they are all quite happy and nothing bad seems to happen. It's weird, but it's kind of nice to just write about kind of everyday things. Just for fun! please don't sue me, all hail the mouse!**

Elizabeth Sparrow watched her three year old son wander over the deck. He had sea legs as soon as he stood the first time. How many children were born and raised at sea? Not many. Nicholas was a miniature version of his father. She smiled as thoughts of Jack assailed her. He should be back soon. He had gone to inspect their estates. He hated doing it, and so did she, so they took turns. Each year one of them returned to Port Royal to ensure that the mansion and grounds which Elizabeth's father had left her were being well up-kept. He took _The Black Pearl _on his years to do it, and on her years she took _The Pirate's Lady, _the ship that Jack had given to her for their first anniversary, right before she gave birth to Nicholas. They had asked Bill Turner to captain the vessel most of the time, then act as first mate when she used it. Barbossa also had a new ship, _The Locker, _and had become part of their growing fleet. Norrington, who had become as much a pirate as any of them, finished up the fleet with his ship, _Tortuga. _As Elizabeth stood on the deck, she could see the other two ships, but the fleet felt lonely and small without its flagship, _The Black Pearl. _And without its "commodore", Jack Sparrow.

How Elizabeth missed Jack. It had been five weeks since she saw him. She wondered if he would have news of Will when he came back. Will had, through a series of circumstances none of them quite understood, become head of the East India Trading Company. This had been good for all pirates, because Will had directed the Company back to their original purpose; trading. As long as the pirates left them alone, the Company left the pirates alone. It was a relatively peaceful arrangement. Will had never really forgiven Elizabeth and Jack, and she had been writing to him ever since he left, trying to regain his friendship. She hoped maybe this year he would actually talk to Jack, but she doubted it.

Four and a half years of marriage had taught Elizabeth many things. The eager happiness and desperate passion of the first year of marriage could not last. The newness wore off, was replaced by a deeper joy, a more mature, patient passion. The only thing that did not change drastically was the love. It got stronger as time went on. The love she and Jack shared was evidenced in the toddler who was wheedling Gibbs into giving him a piggyback. And in the tiny life she carried inside her. Nicholas was proof of the reckless passion of a new marriage, but this little one was proof of a maturing union. But a mature marriage did not mean a slowing of passion. She grinned. Nicholas was conceived in an abbey; this new little one was conceived on the island where she and Jack had once been marooned together.

She smiled to herself at the idea of another child. When she had realized she was carrying Nicholas, she had been afraid Jack would be upset at the idea of a child. But when she told him, after putting it off for quite a while, he had been more excited than she would have ever dreamed. He had been caring and gentle throughout her pregnancy, trying to baby her. She hadn't let him do that much, but it was nice to have him fuss over her. This time, she knew he would be excited, because they had actually been planning to have another child. They had planned to start trying when he got back, but it would appear their little goodbye party for him on the island the night before he left had resulted in moving their plans forward a bit. She couldn't wait to tell Jack.

A sudden call of "Sail ho!" interrupted Elizabeth's thoughts. She grabbed a telescope from Jiminy, the cabin boy, and turned it toward the ship that was just coming into sight. She nearly squealed with delight at the sight of the black sails. She gave some orders, instructing the men to speed up and head toward the other vessel. Then she grabbed Nicholas from Gibbs and hugged him to herself happily. Gibbs grinned. "Is it Jack?" She just nodded, joy overcoming her.

An hour later, _The Black Pearl _pulled up at boarding distance to _The Pirate's Lady. _Jack swung over on a rope and immediately grabbed Elizabeth. She laughed happily and raised her face to meet his kiss. A moment later, Nicholas wedged himself between them, tugging on Jack's pants and saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Jack kept one arm around Elizabeth as he picked up his son. "Ready to go back to the _Pearl, _Nick?" Jack asked cheerily. "Yup, yup. Me go on pearl." Jack fastened a rope around Nick's waste and handed him to Elizabeth. Then he swung back over to his ship and motioned Elizabeth he was ready. Elizabeth would have loved to see the shocked looks on the faces of any of the young women she had once known who were now mothers over what she was about to do. She swung Nicholas over the rail and watched him gleefully fly over the gap between the two ships, yelling "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" the whole way. Jack caught him on the other side, even as Elizabeth grabbed another rope and prepared to swing over herself.

Elizabeth felt herself flying thru the air. At some point, she began feeling ill. Then she felt like she might faint. All in a few seconds. Then she remembered. Of course! She shouldn't be swing boarding while in the early stages of pregnancy! She was going to faint, and all she could do was hope she was close enough to Jack's ship that he could catch her when she couldn't hold the rope. Blackness overcame her.

Elizabeth woke up to find Jack leaning over her, his face etched in worry. She jumped up and heaved into the chamber pot they were using to potty train Nicholas. She felt Jack pulling her hair away from her face, kissing the top of her head gently. When she had thoroughly emptied her stomach, he wet a handkerchief and handed it to her. She wiped her mouth, the sat back. "Is Nick alright? That probably scared him, me fainting like that." "Scared him! Luv, you succeeded in scaring us all half to death, except Nicholas. He thought it was all a game. What's the matter, anyway? Have you been feeling bad for a while?" Elizabeth sighed, shook her head, then rinsed her mouth in the basin on the dresser. Jack handed her a bottle of rum, and she grinned. Once she told him that she was with child, he would not let her near the stuff. She took a quick swig, not wanting to do anything to hurt the baby, then handed it back. He looked puzzled. "Gracious, luv, you must be dying if you'll only have that much!" She shook her head. "I'm fine, Jack." As she spoke, she grabbed his hand and laid it on her belly. "I'll be as good as new in a few weeks." For a moment, he looked totally blank, then realization hit him. "You're…pregnant?" She nodded, and he let out a whoop. He grabbed her and kissed her passionately. "Does that mean I don't get the welcome back I was expecting?" She laughed, knocking him onto the bed with a playful shove. "Well, if you were expecting what I think you were expecting, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't have it." She kissed him hard.

It was good to have him back.


End file.
